Sea to Table is a company that sources sustainable, wild-caught seafood from fisherman around the country. Much of the fish in your local grocery store is likely farmed. Although farmed fish does still share some of the same health benefits of wild-caught fish, it also has its downsides. Farmed fish typically contains antibiotics, hormones, and/or GMOs. In addition, farmed fish can often have more fat (and not always the good kind of fat!) than its wild counterparts. Read more about that here. Even when you’re able to find farmed fish at the grocery store, it can be difficult to know exactly where the fish came from. Sea to Table operates via full transparency, and you can also be happy to know you’re supporting American fishing communities. The fish arrives frozen and portioned. You can thaw and eat that night, or keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to prepare it. I chose the starter pack, which included salmon, shrimp, and cod.

I did receive the product for free in exchange for my honest review, however these opinions are totally my own.

Seafood arrives pre-portioned and packed with dry ice.

Night 1: Alaskan Coho Salmon

Salmon is a regular in my rotation, but I’d never had this particular variety before. The quality looked better than I was used to just from taking it out of the package. The color was lighter than the popular sockeye salmon, which makes sense because it does have a more mild flavor. Salmon’s most well known health benefit is its omega 3 fatty acid content. While everyone needs a mix of several different types of fats in their diets, those with a high proportion of omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to have several benefits. Omega 3’s are anti-inflammatory. In addition, they can also help raise HDL (your good cholesterol) without raising your LDL (bad cholesterol). I paired the salmon with a vegetable red curry and roasted sweet potatoes. It was based off of this recipe, which does happen to be Whole30, but that wasn’t actually intentional! Read this fellow RD's thoughts, which I happen to agree with, on Whole30 here. The flavors went well together and the salmon flavor was not overpowering since coho salmon is a more mild fish.

Salmon paired with roasted sweet potatoes and vegetable red curry. Mine in the front (4 oz salmon) and my boyfriend's in the back (8 oz salmon).

Night 2: Wild Gulf Shrimp

Shrimp is another fairly regular protein in my dinner rotation. It’s also a great gateway fish for those who are unsure that they even like seafood. Shrimp does have a fairly healthy reputation, but has also become known for its high cholesterol content. Despite its high dietary cholesterol content, shrimp is very low in saturated fat, which has been shown to have a greater impact on blood cholesterol levels. This means that overall, it is still a heart healthy choice. It’s also a rich protein source, providing about 26 grams protein per 4 oz portion (which is the portion shown in this photo). Something else to consider, and yes this sounded kind of hilarious to me at first too, is that shrimp fraud is actually very common! What is shrimp fraud, you ask? It essentially means that the shrimp product you're buying is not actually what the label says it is. This study showed that up to 30% of shrimp products sold are misrepresented. Examples could include purchasing shrimp labeled "wild" when it's actually farmed. Sea to Table takes the guesswork out of that, which is something that's important to me.

Now let’s get to the good part- the food! This recipe is so easy and I’d highly recommend it to even a beginner cooker. I marinated my shrimp in stasher bags and let them sit for 12 hours in the fridge, but the recipe says you can marinate for as little as 15 minutes if you’re in a hurry. Paired the shrimp with steamed broccoli and brown rice for an easy, balanced meal.

Honey garlic wild gulf shrimp with steamed broccoli and brown rice

Night 3: Northwest Pacific Cod

Cod is a very lean fish, which means its low in total fat and high in protein. It’s flaky, delicate, and very versatile for cooking. The flavor is pretty mild, so it may be a good choice for people trying to avoid an overly “fishy” flavor. Sea to Table offers Pacific cod, which from what I’ve read is a better option right now because the east coast cod is somewhat over-fished, but the west coast populations are abundant. Because I was the least familiar with cod, I wanted to find a recipe with minimal ingredients so that I could get a sense of the true flavor of the fish. The cod was seasoned only with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Full disclosure, this was my least favorite of the three BUT it may have been my fault because I dropped the ball and forgot to defrost it beforehand. Sea to Table recommends defrosting in the fridge (not the microwave), but since I had forgotten to take it out of the freezer, I had to put it in the microwave which dried it out a little. Flavor was still great, just a little dry. The recipe included a simple white wine sauce and blistered cherry tomatoes, which helped moisten things up a little. I paired it with sautéed spinach and Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro for a super simple weeknight dinner.

Pacific cod with farro, spinach, and tomato white wine sauce

Packed fish comes with information so that you can trace the origins of your fish.

All in all, I would highly recommend Sea to Table. The quality is fantastic and they do all the research for you so that you know you're getting a healthy and sustainable product. And the whole delivery thing doesn't hurt either! Check them out here.

People that know me know I LOVE snacks. While I can certainly appreciate the beauty of classic potato chips or some gourmet cheese (or sometimes both), the majority of the time I try to grab something healthier. In my mind, the ideal snack gives you both protein and carbs. I also prefer it to have either fiber or a healthy fat, to help you feel satisfied. Lastly, it’s important that you like the taste! That might sound silly, but if I don’t truly enjoy eating something, then it doesn’t satisfy me. For example, I’ve never been a big fan of rice cakes, so you won’t find those on this list. Here’s a round-up of some of my favorite go-to snacks:

These are pickled lupini beans, which is something I’d never heard of until I saw these snacks on the shelves of a CIBO Express Gourmet Market at LaGuardia. They basically look like giant lima beans, with a slightly tangy and salty flavor from the pickling. The nutrition profile is spot on: 25 reasonably sized beans have 60 calories, 7g protein, 7g carbs, and 6g fiber. Talk about perfection. My favorite flavor is garlic and herb, but they’re all worth a try.

If my love for chickpeas isn’t obvious enough from my food photos, then it certainly is now. These are a great snack because they have the crunch of a chip or cracker, but provide more protein and fiber. There’s salt (100-260 mg per serving), but not so much that they’ll leave you feeling fluid overloaded later. My favorite flavor is sea salt (am I boring?), but there are several others to choose from. One ¼ cup serving provides 130 calories, 6g protein, and 6g fiber. Last but not least, these babies are great for traveling or keeping at your desk because they don’t need to be refrigerated.

This snack is a classic. Movie theatre popcorn gave it a bad name because of the gobs of salt and butter, but there are lots of great brands out there. Look for those with less than 65 calories per cup. Bonus points if it’s made with ingredients you can pronounce, like spices and real cheese (none of the fake stuff!). Popcorn has a good amount of fiber, usually about 5g per serving, which helps keep you full. Because it’s light and fluffy, a serving size of popcorn tends to be larger than many other foods, which may make it more difficult to overeat.

My love for Siggi’s runs deep, but I’m actually not totally brand loyal. Chobani, Dannon, Icelandic Provisions, and several other brands make great high protein yogurt. These have a great protein:carb ratio to help keep you satisfied. If you don’t feel like a yogurt would fill you up alone, try adding a half cup of fresh fruit. This will only add about 40 calories but will up the fiber content and add some sweetness. Another great (and pre-mixed!) option is Muunacottage cheese. I just discovered these a few weeks ago thanks to a fellow RD pal and I’m really into them.

Hummus with a cracker/veggie/chip combo:

As much as I love chips, I find they’re easy to overeat. The serving size is often deceptively small, and if I don’t eat slowly then I tend to go overboard. That’s why I find it helpful to dip both vegetables (low calorie + fiber) and one serving of chips/crackers (carby salty goodness) into a few tablespoons of hummus. Whole grain chips or crackers are your best options because they have more protein, fiber, and micronutrients. These combined with fresh vegetables and creamy hummus make for a satisfying snack.

I decided to give Blue Apron because my boyfriend and I like to cook and had heard a lot of good things about these kits. You pick the menu items ahead of time, and they deliver a box with all the ingredients you'll need packed in dry ice. The package was really exciting to open! My inner hippie got a little anxiety when I thought about all the potential waste from packaging, but it was actually a lot less than I thought it would be. It was also so nice to have all your week’s groceries just dropped off at your door, even for someone who kind of loves grocery shopping. The directions are very easy to follow and go in a logical sequence. Now let’s break down the meals:

Monday: Paneer and Lentil Masala

I was a little dismayed when I saw the nutrition information—800 calories per serving seemed crazy! I mentally went through ways to dietitian-ize it, such as using less oil when cooking and swapping the heavy cream for unsweetened soy milk, but ultimately I decided to just stick with the recipe. I’m actually glad I did, because the cream made a big taste difference (in a good way). The nutrition information also didn’t seem quite so bad when I saw the portion sizes. To me, this meal could comfortably fill 3 people. Everyone is different though, so others may feel it could feed 4 while some may agree with the 2 servings per package. Taste-wise, I really enjoyed this dish and was glad for the opportunity to cook with some spices and ingredients I don’t generally use. My primary criticism is that I would have liked for there to be more vegetables. We had some leftovers so I put them in a Tupperware and added some shredded carrots to get an extra serving of veggies in, which was really tasty!

Overall consensus—would definitely make this recipe again, but would add some shredded carrots and diced tomatoes when cooking, and would divide into 3-4 servings.

Paneer and Lentil Masala

Tuesday: Korean Beef Steam Buns

First impression before even making them was, “wow, these things aren’t the healthiest”. But then I remembered that we didn’t pick this one because of the nutrition—we picked it because we loved the pork buns we had last month at a Thai restaurant in the village and thought it would be fun to recreate them at home! That being said, I still went through a mental checklist of what vegetables we had in the fridge and tried to think of ways to incorporate them. Knowing that we had red cabbage and carrots, I googled “Asian cabbage carrot slaw” and tons of results came up. I was happy to know we’d have some low-cal veggies on the side of this indulgent dish. The buns themselves were delicious and fluffy, which is exactly what we wanted. The sweet potato tempura was a little difficult to execute so might not be great for a beginner chef.

Overall consensus—some things should be left to the professionals. The buns tasted good, but they weren’t nearly as good as the ones we had from a restaurant.

Korean Beef Steam Buns with Sweet Potato Tempura

Wednesday: Barramundi and Herbed Couscous

This was definitely my favorite meal of the three, but I may be a little biased with my love for fish. I had never heard of this fish before and was a little disappointed when I looked into it more to learn that it was farmed. This meal gets major points for the difficulty level (or lack thereof!). It was so easy and would be great for anyone who’s busy or who doesn’t have a lot of experience cooking. The honeynut squash are so cute! Plus you don’t have to peel them and they’re really easy to cut. The taste was a lot like acorn squash or butternut.

The fish portions were adequate for the recommended 2 servings, but we did have leftover squash and couscous, which I was able to repurpose into dinner the next night with chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, and extra spinach. Win-win!

Lastly (I’m starting to sound like a broken record here…) I’d add more vegetables if I made it in the future. Extra spinach in the couscous felt necessary to balance it out.

Overall consensus— this was a winner. I'd make this recipe again, but would add more vegetables. And I've already gone out to find honeynut squash!

Barramundi and Herbed Couscous with Honeynut Squash

Overall impression:

The biggest perk was the convenience. I didn’t feel that these meals were much healthier than getting take out, but they can definitely be veggied up a little if you have extra vegetables in your fridge. I’d recommend checking the ingredients list and the nutrition information before ordering so that you can make an educated decision. I did enjoy the taste of all of them, which is obviously very important! Not sure if I’d order again, but I am interested in trying some of the other meal delivery kits to see how they’d compare. They could be great for weeks when you’re coming back from traveling or have a lot going on and don’t have time to grocery shop.